Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: It Has to Be You, Senior Brother Zhao
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The plan was perfect, but reality proved cruel.
"I didn't choose my previous life's cultivation, so neither the Corpse Liberation True Method nor the Heavenly Silkworm Secret carried over any progress in those two great divine abilities. Rebuilding will take time."
Fortunately, with the Guardian Spirit Su Nü at his side, he no longer needed to endure the hundred trials and tribulations of his past life. He could directly empower his practice of divine abilities with a Foundation Establishment rank, and in just a few months, he could refine his Foundation Establishment divine sense and the rank of [Corpse Liberation Immortal] anew, restoring his cultivation to its peak from his previous life.
With that thought, Lu Yang felt no rush to execute the plan.
After all, this involved slipping sand under the nose of a Foundation Establishment true person. To be safe, it was better to wait until he had recovered his peak strength.
He stepped out of his cave abode and met up with Liu Xin.
He received half of the Innate Dao Scripture from Liu Xin's hands.
After seeing the other man off, Lu Yang cast an obfuscation spell to conceal his figure, pinched his fingers to divine, and then arrived at a remote cave abode on Heaven Mending Peak.
At that moment, furious roars echoed from within the cave abode:
"My opportunity! That was my opportunity, stolen by someone else! Rationality? How am I supposed to stay rational? What do you want me to be rational with!"
It was Zhao Xuhe's voice.
As expected, with Lu Yang's intervention, Perfected Being Panlong's inheritance had vanished, plunging Zhao Xuhe back into the depths of despair. He now stood there, cursing up a storm.
Moments later, the cave abode's doors swung open. Zhao Xuhe's old flame, Fairy Qinghe, emerged with a cold expression on her beautiful face. She turned back and spat,
"Zhao Xuhe, we're through."
Then she strode away without a hint of reluctance. Lu Yang pinched his fingers again and divined that she was heading straight for Liu Xin's cave abode.
Smashing sounds erupted from the cave abode once more.
Lu Yang opened his dharma eyes and quickly spotted Zhao Xuhe venting his rage inside. A faint smile curved his lips.
"Senior Brother Zhao, it has to be you!"
In this life, his greatest enemy was undoubtedly the Dragon-Subduing Arhat.
He had no intention of dispersing his cultivation to rebuild. Third-grade true techniques were rare to begin with—aside from the Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art, the rest belonged to the Primal Saint Sect.
But the Primal Saint Sect's techniques... somehow felt even less reliable.
At least with the Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art, he knew exactly what the hidden dangers were. The Primal Saint Sect's third-grade true techniques, on the other hand, were still shrouded in mystery to him.
So it was better to find a way around the Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art.
"Though the technique does have its flaws, those flaws should only affect Qi Refining cultivators. Otherwise, why did the Dragon-Subduing Arhat wait until I was breaking through to Foundation Establishment before intervening?"
"Wouldn't it benefit him more to let me establish my foundation first, then harvest me later?"
"But he didn't. The only explanation is that once I successfully reach Foundation Establishment, I escape his control—so he had to block me in advance!"
In other words, as long as he could break through to Foundation Establishment despite the Dragon-Subduing Arhat's interference, he could turn the tables!
Easier said than done, though. Lu Yang knew his own limits all too well. The Dragon-Subduing Arhat had already refined a single Heavenly Gang star, and his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation was far beyond what Lu Yang could contend with.
At least not before Lu Yang had established his foundation.
A direct clash was out of the question; he needed to outsmart him.
"Though in this life I plan to vie for a Primal Saint Sect true transmission disciple spot for protection, I can't pin all my hopes on the sect."
It was the Primal Saint Sect, after all.
Even a cunning rabbit had three burrows—how much more so for a person?
Thus, Lu Yang needed backup plans—one, or even several—to ensure that when the Dragon-Subduing Arhat came for him, he had the means to respond.
And Zhao Xuhe was one of the backup plans Lu Yang had selected.
In the next instant, Lu Yang unleashed his divine sense, brutally flooding into Zhao Xuhe's mind.
As the haze of drunkenness lifted, Zhao Xuhe snapped his eyes open. In that half-dreaming, half-awake state, fragmented memories suddenly surged into his mind.
"Where... am I?"
Zhao Xuhe looked around in bewilderment, taking a long while to regain his senses. Only as the piecemeal memories gradually clarified did realization dawn on him.
"These are my memories from my previous life!"
In those memories, Zhao Xuhe saw a youth who shared eight parts of his own appearance—riding the winds, laughing proudly at the heavens and earth, the picture of youthful bravado.
"So that's how it is... My previous life was actually Perfected Being Panlong!"
Zhao Xuhe understood.
"No wonder I had such an affinity for that Perfected Being Panlong's technique—it was mine to begin with! As for the three lifetimes of merit, those were what I accumulated as a true person."
"As to why I have no more memories, or the heavenly gifts a true person's reincarnation should have... That's normal too. A true person's fruits are severed after five lifetimes, and I'm already the fifth life of Perfected Being Panlong. With my allotted span nearing its end, all those wonders have faded. Otherwise, how could I have fallen so low?"
Zhao Xuhe harbored no doubts about the memories.
They were logical and tightly interlocked. Even the parts that seemed flawed at first glance could be reasonably explained with a little thought.
More importantly, one thing in the memories was undeniably real.
"The Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art!"
Zhao Xuhe focused his mind, and the contents of the Nine Transformations of the Dragon Art emerged word for word in his thoughts, complete with insights and annotations!
No mistake—this had to be his past life's understanding of the technique!
On top of that, even the Ten Thousand Chariots Dragon-Riding Ascension Treasure Scroll was there, sending Zhao Xuhe into rapturous ecstasy. He practically danced around the cave abode.
But soon, his expression grew grave again.
"In this life, someone is definitely scheming against me!"
Zhao Xuhe pondered briefly, and his sharp mind quickly latched onto the culprit behind it all:
"The Heaven Mending Peak Master!"
If, as a disciple of the Heaven Mending Peak Master, Zhao Xuhe had once held a shred of awe for him, now only resentment remained.
"That old bastard is a true person himself—why take a true person's reincarnation as his disciple? He's clearly taking advantage of me! And the inheritance I left for myself suddenly vanished. When I asked that old coot, he claimed my affinity with it was exhausted? What utter nonsense..."
Could it be that he pocketed the inheritance I left for myself?!
The more Zhao Xuhe thought, the angrier he got. It took a long while for his mood to settle.
"That old bastard is too powerful. I can't let him realize I've awakened my past life's memories."
Endure the insult for the moment!
Bide the time!
Zhao Xuhe's gaze hardened, as if he had truly become the wind-summoning, rain-calling Perfected Being Panlong from his memories.
"In this life, I will inevitably return to Foundation Establishment!"
"Even through a thousand hardships and ten thousand dangers, I will defy the heavens!"
Watching Zhao Xuhe point to the sky and swear an oath inside the cave abode, rising renewed, Lu Yang smiled in satisfaction.
The so-called "past life memories" were naturally all fabricated by Lu Yang. With Su Nü's blessing, he could now subtly influence others' thoughts without a trace.
Strictly speaking, Zhao Xuhe had become Lu Yang's bait.
And the big fish Lu Yang aimed to hook was the Dragon-Subduing Arhat!
"In this life, I'll first help Zhao Xuhe attempt Foundation Establishment, drawing all the Dragon-Subduing Arhat's attention to him. Then I'll make my own breakthrough."
That way, he could buy himself time to break through.
In plain terms, use Zhao Xuhe as a shield.
"Go on ahead with peace of mind, Senior Brother Zhao. If you can block this calamity for me in this life, I won't charge you interest on the contribution points you owe me from two lifetimes ago."
(End of Chapter)